Miracles in Concrete

Miracles in Concrete. Structural Engineer August Komendant, a comprehensive retrospective on the Estonian-American structural engineer August Eduard Komendant (1906–92) presents a list of original drawings and models by architects Louis Kahn, Moshe Safdie, Oscar Tenreiro, Elmar Lohk, and Komendant himself. Most of the archival material at the exhibition has not been previously exhibited. 

Highlights of the first international exhibition on the esteemed structural engineer include 13 sketches by Louis Kahn, 13 of August Komendant’s own structural drawings, and more than 60 of his personal items. The show also includes 20 unique structural and architectural models, and more than 200 photographs. Curated by Carl-Dag Lige, and produced by the Museum of Estonian Architecture, the exhibition introduces August Komendant’s international career as a talented structural engineer, most famous for his 18-year-long collaboration with another Estonia-born talent, architect Louis Kahn. With Kahn Komendant collaborated on at least 15 projects including the Richards Medical Research Laboratories (1957–65), the Salk Institute for Biological Studies (1959–65), the Kimbell Art Museum (1966–72), the Olivetti-Underwood Factory (1966–70), and the Palazzo dei Congressi in Venice, Italy (1968–73, unbuilt). Their collaboration was vividly documented by Komendant himself in his bestseller 18 Years with Architect Louis I. Kahn, first published in 1975.

Komendant’s other important projects include the dining halls of the Ezra Stiles and Samuel Morse colleges at Yale University (architect Eero Saarinen, 1960–61), the Philadelphia Police Administration Building in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (architects Geddes Brecher Qualls Cunningham, 1959–63), the National Gallery in Caracas, Venezuela (architect Oscar Tenreiro, 1980–82, unbuilt), and the early reinforced concrete Kadriorg Stadium Grandstand in Tallinn, Estonia (architect Elmar Lohk, 1936–38).

Learning from Komendant’s legacy
August Komendant belongs among the most important structural engineers of the post-WWII generation, which focused primarily on the potential of reinforced concrete as a structural and architectural material. Komendant supported firmly the principle of structural honesty—the view that a building always has to express how it has been built, and how it works as a structural system. Komendant, an innovator in both pre-stressed and precast reinforced concrete also worked closely with architect Moshe Safdie on the Habitat’67 experimental housing complex in Montréal, Canada (1963–67), built for the EXPO of 1967.

By the middle of the 20th century, reinforced concrete had become one of the most popular structural materials for building a new living environment. Concrete was used for both residential buildings and public structures. A material, which many people consider to be bleak, cold and dull, was August Komendant’s passion through decades. He brought concrete to life in a way that left its mark on the history of both 20th-century construction and architecture. He consistently demanded quality starting from the recipe for the concrete mix to the finishing of the completed structures, and would not tolerate any concessions. His beliefs were based on knowledge and complemented by a refined sense of aesthetics, which helped him understand even the most lyrical architect-artists, such as Louis I. Kahn. Many architects admired him, because Komendant made majority of the drawings himself.

The buildings and projects completed with Komendant’s participation demonstrate how to see and sense the whole, and to parse out what is most important from a large body of information. He was a well-educated and highly experienced specialist, who worked across national borders, but remained faithful to his heritage and native language. He knew that miracles need more than spreadsheets and a budget—a creative impulse is vital.

Curator Carl-Dag Lige

Exhibition design Tomomi Hayashi, Andrea Ainjärv (HGA)

Graphic design Marje Eelma (Tuumik Stuudio)

Photography Martin Siplane, Jari Jetsonen

Archival materials
Merike Komendant Phillips, G. Jüri Komendant, Martin Komendant (August Komendant’s family), The Architectural Archives of the University of Pennsylvania, McGill University, Moshe Safdie Architects, Archivo de Arquitectura y Construcción de la Universidad de Puerto Rico, Virginia Tech